Bill Cipher Pyramid Speaker

This project is inspired by the pyramid design for Bill Cipher from the show Gravity Falls and was created for Design Technology Class. Currently the product is unfinished and this serves as a production plan. The page will be updated when the product is finished.

Materials:

6x 297 x 420 x 3 mm clear acrylic

Visaton FR7 speaker

Solvent based acrylic glue

Philips RGB light strips

Acrylic enamel black spraypaint

4x 4mm nuts

4x 4mm bolts

12x washers

Electrical tape

Speaker amplification PCB (+components)

3.5mm audio cable

Supplies:

Step 1: Laser-cut the Pyramid Layers

Using the 2D CAD pyramid file I made, laser cut the sheets of acrylic into the pyramid sheets, bases, spacers and mounts.

Acrylic pieces produced:

30x pyramid sheets

2x pyramid layer tops

3x pyramid layer bottoms

1x speaker mounting sheet

16x pyramid spacers

Step 2: Glue the Layers Together

Glue the sheets together, remembering to replace the extra pyramid sheets with the bottom sheets.

Don't glue the bottom on for the top layer.

Don't glue the top pieces of each layer on so you can access the interior

Step 3: Drill Mounting Holes for Speaker and Wire Pass-through Holes

Using the speaker mounting sheet (the one with a hole in the middle) and the speaker to determine where to drill the holes and what size to drill them. Be sure to make them slightly larger than the mounting holes on the speaker to ensure you get a good fit.

Drill a large hole next to the largest hole but still near the center of the sheet for wire pass through

Drill wire pass through holes in the center of all the top and bottom sheets.

Step 4: Install Speaker

Place washers on each of the four bolts and slide them through the holes drilled in the speaker mounting sheet earlier.

Place two washers on each bolt

Install the speaker on the bolts

Secure the speaker in place by screwing on the nuts

Step 5: Solder the PCB

Collect the necessary components and solder them careful to the PCB using the amplification circuit sheet as a guide

Test that the circuit works by plugging power in and attaching (temporarily) to the speaker

Step 6: Assemble the Base

Cut slots in the side of the base pyramid to accommodate the audio-in jack and the switch.

Cut slots in the back of the base pyramid to accommodate power in for the RGB LED strips and the speaker itself

Cut a slot in the front for the remote receiver for the RGB LED strips

Cut four lengths of RGB LED strips to form a square on the bottom with space in the middle for the PCB and RGB LED controller

Solder the PCB to the speaker unit

Use double sided tape to secure the PCB and RGB LED controller

Solder the four strips to each other, leaving the last strip detached, outside the housing to avoid damage

Using the remaining solder points on the strip, solder pieces of wire long enough to supply power to the RGB LED strips that will be installed on the next layer. Having slack is not a problem, in fact it's ideal if you do.

Stick the LED strips to the base

Feed the power cables through the cutout you made

Feed the cable through its cutout

Glue the remote receiver and switch into their respective cutouts

Plug the RGB LED controller into the strips

Feed the RGB LED cables through the pass through hole

Glue on the top sheet of the bottom layer.

Step 7: Install the RGB LED Strips

Cut four lengths of RGB LED strips to make a square for the middle and top layers.

Repeat step 7 (from the last section) for both the middle and top layers

Repeat step 8 (from the last section) for the middle layer

Repeat step 9 (from the last section) for both layers

Step 8: Attach Layers and Prepare for Painting

Glue all the spacers together in groups of two

Glue the pairs onto the top of the base layer so they make a square with a side length of roughly 15cm

Tape the pass through hole so just the wires can get through. This is to ensure paint doesn't get into the interior

Pass the wires through the middle layer

Solder those wires onto the RGB LED strips in the middle layer.

Glue the middle layer onto the spacers.

Pass the wires in the middle layer through the top sheet and glue the sheet on.

Attach the final layer by feeding the wires through the last bottom sheet.

Solder the wires to the RGB LED strips

Glue the final bottom sheet to the top of the pyramid (top layer)

Make sure to use the electrical tape to seal off the openings.

The structure and electronics are all finished.

Step 9: Painting and Cosmetics

Print the hat in black 3D print filament

Mask off the speaker by wrapping masking tape around the spacers so you form a sort of vertical tube of tape in between the bottom and middle layers.

Mask off the eye for Bill cipher using the reference sketch as well as the bow tie

Spray the pyramid with a coat of the paint and continue adding coats until the finish is to your satisfaction.

Once the paint is dry, remove the masking tape and test all the electronics

Glue the hat onto the top of the pyramid

Sketch the bricks onto the pyramid with a pencil

Use a rotary tool to cut out the mortar, exposing the clear acrylic so light can shine through.